STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A
month after an electrical fire burned through the roof of an already dilapidated
house in Brighton Heights, Richard Tindall has done little to mitigate concerns
over hoarding inside his home, super-sized rodents around his property and a
stench caused by both, neighbors and government officials told the Advance.

Stephannia Cleaton, a spokeswoman
for Councilwoman Debi Rose, said Adult Protective Services offered Tindall assisted-living
care after the July 21 fire, which he refused. Because the agency deemed
Tindall "competent" enough for independent living, the state cannot force him to move
to an assisted-living facility - despite a decade of outcry from his
neighbors.

"Competent adults have the right to exercise free
choice in deciding whether to accept services," the agency's website says. "If
an adult appears to be capable of understanding the risks and chooses to stay
in an abusive or neglectful situation this can be a difficult decision for
others to understand."

Tindall's
neighbors, who have seen their foundations gnawed at and found dead rodents in
their swimming pools since the fire seemed to unleash them from 82 Silver Lake Rd., fault
Adult Protective Services. "Because they keep saying he's mentally competent,
the problem continues," one neighbor said. "He's able to talk his way out of
these situations," the neighbor added.

A Health Department spokeswoman said
inspectors "noted evidence of rats and trash" during a visit to the property
July 31. But the department has failed to send an inspector back to the
property to exterminate the rat population since.

Tindall, who is 75-years-old and
disabled by severe spinal arthritis, violated a Buildings Department full-vacate order on the property last Sunday, when he returned to the home with his
friend, Arthur Price, and trespassed inside, according to a second neighbor,
who reported the incident to the police.

"It appeared that he had a bag of
some kind of animal food," the second neighbor said. She encouraged him to
leave the property, before she noticed a dead rat, and left the house herself. Tindall was gone by the time police officers arrived on scene, the
neighbor said.

Tindall
declined multiple opportunities to comment for this report.

The
Buildings Department plans to block the entrances to Tindall's home with cement to
prevent further trespassing - but only after the Health Department exterminates
the rat population inside, Ms. Cleaton, the councilwoman's representative,
said.

The
Buildings Department visited the property Friday with officials from Councilwoman Rose's office and members of the fire and police departments. Ms.
Cleaton said the Health Department had not yet indicated when its
representatives would return to the property.